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SECRETARY'S REPORT 



Obsequies of the Prison Ship Martyrs 



PLYMOUTH CHURCH, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 



JUNE 16, 1900. 



UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE 



PRISON SHIP MARTYRS' MONUMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE 
UNITED STATES. 



SECRETARY'S REPORT 



OF THE 



Obsequies of the Prison Ship Martyrs 



PLYMOUTH CHURCH, BROOKLYN, N. Y, 



JUNE J6, 1900. 



UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE 

PRISON SHIP MARTYRS' MONUMENT ASSOCIATION OF THE 
UNITED STATES. 



New York : 
Macgowan & SwppER, Printers, 30 Beekman Street. 

1901. 



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SECRETARY'S REPORT 

OF THE 

Obsequies of the Prison Ship Martyrs 

At Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, 
Jtine J 6, 1900, 

In January, 1900, in excavating for the foundations of a 
new building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the workmen 
uncovered the bones of a number of those who died upon 
the prison ships during the war of the Revolution and 
were interred upon the shores of Wallabout Bay. Immedi- 
ately upon the announcement of this discovery by the daily 
press, the Secretary of the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument 
Association wrote to Rear Admiral John W. Philip, then 
Commandant of the Yard, and received the following reply; 

Navy Yard, New YorTv, January 25, 1900. 
Mrs. Horatio C. King : 

My Dear Madam : Replying to your note of yesterday, 
would say that the few human bones found while excavating 
near the water front are in a box and will be cared for until 
the Commandant hears again from you. Without giving 
the subject much serious thought, it was my intention to 



cause them to be buried in the cemetery at the Naval Hos- 
pital. But now, as 1 said, 1 will retain them until I hear 
again from you. J. W. Philip. 

The excavations continued for some time and the bones, 
as they were exhumed, were reverently collected in tempo- 
i^ary receptacles and stored in the Commandant's office, 
awaiting the public obsequies under the auspices of the 
Monument Association, which were fixed for June i6, the 
day preceding the Anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, 
which fell on Sunday. In conjunction with Major-General 
John R. Brooke, Commanding the Department of the East, 
Rear Admiral Philip, on behalf of the Navy, and Brigadier- 
General James McLeer, Commanding the Second firigade, 
National Guard of New York, a suitable military escort was 
provided. Hon. S. V. White, Hon. William B. Davenport 
and General Horatio C. King were appointed a committee 
of arrangements, and the last was designated as Grand 
Marshal. Col. Edward E. Britton was selected by Gen. 
King as Chief of Staff. 

At 2 p. M. on June i6, the special escort, composed of 
Battery N, Fifth United States Artillery, Captain Thomas 
Ridgway, commanding, and a Battalion of United States 
Marines, Major Thomas Woods, commanding, headed by 
the band of the Fifth Artillery, assembled in front 
of the Commandant's office in the Navy Yard. The 
remains, in seven oak caskets, provided by the Monu- 
ment Association, were placed in the several hearses 
by a detachment of United States sailors, and covered 
with American flag§, the band playing a dirge. The 
procession moved at 2:30, followed by General Brooke and 
staff, Admiral Philip and staff, and other distinguished 
officers and civilians, in carriages, to Plymouth Church. 
Here, while the escort presented arms and the band played 
" Nearer My God to Thee," the caskets were carried into 
the church and placed in front of the pulpit. 

The church itself was profusely decorated with flags 
chiefly provided by Mrs. Horatio C. King. Across the 



3 
whole front of the great organ was suspended a flag of the 
Revolution loaned by Mrs. Henry Sanger Snow, and on 
either side of the pulpit platform stood two handsome 
standards, one bearing the thirteen stars of the original 
States and the other the forty-five stars of the expanded 
Union, which, with numerous escutcheons, were especially 
ordered and provided by Mrs. S. V. White. Flowers, 
wreaths and grouped plants also decked the platform. 

As the remains were brought in, the " Dead March from 
Saul" was played by Mr. George Waring Stebbins, or- 
ganist of the church, who with the quartette, Mrs. C. M- 
Harvey, Mrs. Helen S. Gue, Mr. Geo. Leon Moore and 
Mr. A. M. Best, gave their services for the occasion. 

At about 3 p. M. Honorable Elijah R. Kennedy, President 
of the Monument Association, Rev. Newell D wight Hillis, 
D.D., the pastor of the church. General Brooke, Admiral 
Philip, Honorable John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy, 
General Stewart L. Woodford, Honorable Amos J. Cum- 
raings, M. C, Honorable E. M. Grout, President of the 
Borough of Brooklyn, Major-General Robert Dalton, Ad- 
jutant-General of Massachusetts, and Brigadier-General 
W. L. Stryker, Adjutant-General of New Jersey, en- 
tered and occupied the pulpit seats. In the immediate 
front pews were Major-General Daniel E. Sickles, U. S. A., 
Honorable Benjamin F. Tracy, Ex-Secretary of the Navy, 
General McLeer and staff. Honorable Felix Campbell, and 
many members of the Monument Association, the Daughters 
of the Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution 
and Society of Old Brooklynites. Every seat in the audi- 
torium was filled. 

After the organ prelude, the meeting was called to order 
by President Elijah R. Kennedy. 

Mr. Kennedy : It is appropriate that a ceremony to com- 
memorate patriotism and martyrdom in the cause of a free 
country should be conducted in a place which is associated 
with the very ideas of civil and religious liberty, where such 
liberty has had its highest aspirations and its most eloquent 
and potent advocacy ; and it is suitable for the solemnity o^ 



4 
the place, as well as of the occasion, that the exercises should 
partake, in part, at least, of a religious character. We shall 
therefore first listen to the reading of the Holy Scripture 
by the pastor of this church, the Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight 
Hillis. 

SCRIPTURE READING. 

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her 
that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is 
pardoned ; for she hath received of the Lord's hand double 
for all her sins. 

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye 
the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway 
for our God. 

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and 
hill shall be made low ; and the crooked shall be made 
straight, and the rough places plain ; 

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all the 
flesh shall see it together ; for the mouth of the Lord hath 
spoken it. 

The voice said, Cry ! And he said. What shall I cry ? 
xAU flesh is grass, and all the godliness thereof is as the 
flower of the field ; 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ; because the spirit 
of the Lord bloweth upon it ; surely the people is grass. 
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth ; but the word of our 
God shall stand forever. 

Yea, they shall not be planted ; yea, they shall not be 
sown; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth ; and he 
shall blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirl- 
wind shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will 
ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 

Lift up )'Our eyes on high, and behold who hath created 
these things, that bringeth out their host by number ; he 
calleth them all by name by the greatness of his might, for 
that he is strong in power ; not one faileth. 

Hast thou not known ? hast thou not heard, that the 



5 
everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the 
earth, fainteth not, neither is weary ? there is no searching 
of this understanding. 

He giveth power to the faint ; and to them that have no 
might, he increaseth strength. 

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young 
men shall utterly fall ; 

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
strength ; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they 
^hall run and not be weary ; and they shall walk and not 
faint. 

And what shall I more say ? for the time would fail me to 
tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephtha ; 
of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets ; 

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought right- 
eousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. 

Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the 
sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in 
fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 

Women received their dead raised to life again ; and 
others were tortured, not accepting deliverance ; that they 
might obtain a better resurrection : 

And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, 
yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment : 

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, 
were slain with the sword ; they wandered about in sheep- 
skins and goatskins ; being destitute, afflicted, tormented ; 

Of whom the world was not worthy : they wandered in 
deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the 
earth. 

In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of rob- 
bers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the 
heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in 
perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren ; 

In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in 
hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 



And these all, having obtained a good report through 
faith, received not the promise : 

God having provided some better thing for us, that they 
without us should not be made perfect. 

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they 
may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through 
the gates into the city. 

And there shall be no more curse ; but the throne of God 
and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants shall serve 
him : 

And they shall see his face ; and his name shall be in their 
foreheads. 

And there shall be no night there ; and they need no candle, 
neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light ; 
and they shall reign forever. 

May God bless the reading of His word. 

The quartet then sang the hymn 464, of the Plymouth 
Hymnal, commencing — 

Who are these in bright array, 
This innumerable throng. 

At its close, Dr Hillis offered the following prayer : 

PRAYER 

By Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis. 

O Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all gener- 
ations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever 
Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from 
everlasting to everlasting Thou art God. Our fathers 
trusted in Thee ; they trusted in Thee and were not afraid. 
In all their dangers Thou didst deliver them. In all hours 
of perplexity Thou didst lend them wisdom and guidance. 
In times of defeat Thou didst make the overthrow better 
victory. Thy providence was unto them a pillar of cloud by 
Hay, and a pillar of fire by night. And now we, Thy chil- 



^ 



7 
dren, give Thee unfeigned praise and gratitude for the inher- 
itance of the founders and fathers. Our times are in Thy 
hands. In Thy generous love Thou hast ordained that we 
should enjoy liberty, intelligence, opportunity. We thank 
Thee that we dwell in this fruitful land, beneath benignant 
skies, and that our happiness and freedom have been secured 
by institutions that represent truth and justice. And we 
desire to receive these institutions of the fathers as gifts 
divine. And we ask that Thou wouldst deepen within us 
the sense of fidelity to conviction, and lend us increased love 
of home and church and school, and all that makes the re- 
public the teacher of the nations in free institutions. Grant 
that, to the end of time, our children and our children's chil- 
dren may be faithful to the memory of the fathers who 
loved justice, did mercy, and walked humbly before God. 

Eternal God, the author of all life, unchanged from age to 
age, we give Thee special gratitude this day for the memory 
of the heroes who once lived, but are not. In the discovery 
of these bones, as it were, those who were dead have risen 
up. Their very dust hath broken into voice, speaking of 
patriotism, courage, and fidelity to conviction. These are 
they who were honored in their generation, and were the 
glory of their times. They have left a name behind them 
that their praises might be reported. To-day we carry 
their bones to their resting place in peace and honor, and 
their names live forevermore. Deepen within us our ad- 
miration for their bravery, truth, their high sense of justice 
and their unyielding fidelity. We feel that they have taken 
vows of us to love and serve our country. Ratify Thou, we 
beseech Thee, this covenant, the while we consecrate our- 
selves anew to the cause of liberty and to the institutions for 
which our fathers lived and died. And as the generations 
come and go, may the multitude that will wear deeply the 
path unto this tomb, read these inscriptions, and swear 
fidelity to the convictions and principles of our founders 
and fathers, and of our God. 

Oh, Thou who art the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, 
send Thy blessing this day upon thy servant, the President 



of the United States, and upon all members of his cabinet, 
associated with him in positions of authority. May those 
who counsel with him be themselves taught of God. Grant 
Thy special favor upon Thy servant, the Secretary of the 
Navy, who this day represents our sailors upon the sea. Be 
gracious unto the soldier who represents our army. Oh, 
Thou who didst come to bring peace and not a sword, 
hasten the day when the sword shall be drawn only to smite 
oppression, cruelty and despotism. Bring in the era of 
peace, and of universal good will. Hold the people back 
from over-ripe prosperity, make the weak too strong to be 
oppressed, make the poor too wise to be led astray. Destroy 
selfishness, ignorance, fear and superstition ; increase intel- 
ligence, justice and the sense of rectitude. May the lamp 
of liberty, lighted by our fathers, be fed by the children un- 
til its beacon fires, burning more and more brightly, shall 
lighten darkened lands beyond the sea. 

Thou who hast made of one people all nations of men who 
dwell upon the face of the earth, once more we pray " Thy 
kingdom come, and Thy will be done." This was our 
father's prayer, and still the era of peace on earth and, good 
will toward men is delayed. How long, Oh Lord, how 
long? When shall the cry of the oppressed and the sound 
of wrath and strife die away upon the horizon ? Even while 
we pray there comes to us from that ancient empire the bat- 
tle cry, sounding the conflict. Grant, oh God, that if it be 
necessary that the plow-share of war shall pass through the 
soil, it may bury forever the evil seeds of ignorance, vice, 
superstition and tyranny. And sow deeply the good seed 
of wisdom, liberty and love. Hold the turbulent people 
back from conflict. Restrain hatred and anger and race 
prejudice. Increase the sense of brotherhood. Oh, for the 
time when brotherly love shall be universal, and the earth 
shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters 
cover the great deep. Oh, for the era when men shall learn 
the might of meekness, and the strength of gentleness, and 
the omnipotence of sympathy and love. Hasten the time 
when the angel shall stand upon the sea, and lifting his 



9 
trumpet, proclaim that the kingdoms of the earth have be- 
come the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Thy 
Kingdom come, and Thy will be done on Earth as it is in 
Heaven. — Amen. 

ANTHEM — ''What Are These," .... Stainer 

Hallehijah ! What are these that are arrayed in white robes, and 
whence came they ? These are they which came out of great tribula- 
tion, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood 
of the Lamb. 

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and 
night in His temple. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any 
more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the 
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall 
lead them unto fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all 
tears from their eyes. 

Mr. Kennedy : It is fortunate that at the moment when 
the remains of these nameless dead were discovered, where 
they were first interred by unfriendly hands, the United 
States government, on whose territory they were buried, 
was represented not only by one who had acquired dis- 
tinction in the service at sea, but who had within him a 
heart and sentiments of appreciation for the heroism of these 
unknown martyrs — Rear Admiral John W. Philip, the 
Commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, who will now 
tell us of the discovery of these remains and of their rever- 
ent care and custody in his hands, until this moment. 

REMARKS OF REAR ADMIRAL PHILIP. 

As the representative of the Honorable the Secretary of 
the Navy, at the Navy Yard, but not here on this platform, 
or in this holy edifice, I was told a few moments ago that 
I should be asked to tell you how these sacred remains 
came into the possession of the authorities at the Navy Yard. 
Some months ago, last winter, in excavating for the founda- 
tion of a new building that had been ordered to be erected 
by the Secretary of the Navy, the hallowed remains were 
found, as the sand was shoveled out for the excavation of 



lO 

this building. They were apparently buried naturally 
together ; but there was nothing found around them, only 
the bones remained. They were collected by the naval 
authorities, and as they were accumulating there, the Sec- 
retary of this Society asked the Commandant to retain 
them in his custody until the Society could take charge of 
them. 

The sands on the beach of the Wallabout had been their 
custodian for nearly one hundred and twenty years, but 
being robbed of their charge by the naval authorities, and 
kept up to the present time in safety, I now turn them over 
to the custody of the Honorable the Secretary of the Navy. 

Mr. Kennedy : It is a peculiar honor that the Secretary of 
the Navy, so well known to the people of the entire coun- 
try, whose voice has never advocated an unworthy purpose, 
but has often led in causes that have received the approba- 
tion of all patriotic citizens, has been willing to defer the 
pressing and accumulating duties of his position and to 
travel from the capital of the country here to Brooklyn, to 
perform the honorable service of transferring now the care 
of these remains to this city, where they are to find final 
interment. I have the honor to introduce to you the Hon- 
orable John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy. 

ADDRESS OF SECRETARY LONG. 

As the representative here of the United States Navy I 
beg to express my appreciation of your courtesy in inviting 
me to a participation in these sad but inspiring ceremonies. 
These relics of dead heroes which the distinguished command- 
ant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard has gathered, I now, so far 
as I may, transfer to the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument 
Association for their care. Let me express to them the 
obligation which the navy, as well as the whole country, 
are under to them for this patriotic work in which they are 
engaged. 

These men whose bones we bury to-day are of the navy 
of to-day. In the best sense of the word there is no modern 



II 



navy. The navy is not its organization, efficient as that is ; 
it is not its Naval Academy, though that has become a 
modern university for the most complete naval education ; 
it is not its ships, powerful and thoroughly equipped as they 
are ; it is still its officers and men, as in the days of Paul 
Jones and Hull and Decatur and Farragut. 

The navy to-day, as it was at the first, and has been 
ever since, is a power and a glory because its officers and 
men are inspired by a high sense of duty and a lofty patriot, 
ism. As the man is not the body, but is the spirit which is 
in him, as life itself is not the physical form which you see, 
but is the divine spark which animates it ; so the American 
Navy is the American heart and intelligence, whether on 
the mighty Oregon, with its enormous guns, its revolving 
turrets, and its hundreds of engines, a masterpiece of me- 
chanical ingenuity, or on the poor old Bon Homme Richard, 
with its rotten timbers and its bursting carronades and 
swivels. It is still in either case victory— victory over the 
waves and over the enemies' batteries because a true hero is 
behind the guns and at the helm. The fashion of the ship, 
the enginery, the ordnance, may change, but the man is still 
the same. 

The naval heroes of to-day, who are the nation's pride 
are one with these naval heroes whose martyred bones you 
so sacredly and tenderly preserve, and to whom you now do 
these deserved honors. We in this generation have seen 
men who died that their country might live. We honor 
to-day the men who died to give their country birth, and 
with it the birthright of freedom. 

Death for country in one position is as patriotic, though 
it may not be so glorious, as death in another. These 
patriot martyrs who would not purchase even life at the 
cost of treason, who endured unutterable sufferings rather 
than betray their country's cause ; and who, thousands in 
number, perished in those horrible prison ships, deserve 
that you make their memory eternal and that you write 
their story on a monument that shall tell it to this and suc- 
ceeding generations. 



12 

This occasion, therefore, these fitting ceremonies and this 
monument which you propose to erect, are the very educa- 
tion of patriotism. They are more than that. They are an 
education which shall train the American citizen for his 
duties and responsibilities. Education is not alone a matter 
of books and of the school room. It is a growth and culture 
which comes from the inspiration of noble deeds whenever 
enacted ; from contact with great events reproduced ; from 
association with noble ideas enforced by fitting symbols, and 
from the examples of brave heroic action impressed upon the 
public mind. It is in the very air we breathe ; in the scenes 
and surroundings and things which we have put about us, 
and in the atmosphere which we create. You can hardly 
point to a man who has made his mark in the history of the 
United States whose education was not of this sort rather 
than of the school or of the college. What education in the 
ordinary sense of the word had Washington or Hamilton or 
Jackson or Lincoln ? 

And yet what education, in the best sense of the word, 
did they not have in the enlivening inspirations of American 
life ? The wonderful thing to me in this tremendous age of 
ours is the spirit of the time, the spirit of the republic, the 
spirit of development and growth for all, the spirit of 
patriotism, the spirit of intelligence universally diffused 
and tempered by the church, the school, the platform, the 
press and all the educating influences of modern life. 
While this spirit predominates there may be frictions, there 
may be convulsions, there will be sporadic instances of 
crime and fraud and evil ; but an underlying, irresistible 
force is always and surely at work toward the accumulat- 
ing assurance of good morals, good citizenship and good 
government. 

When you shall have consummated your noble and 
patriotic work, in which God give you good speed, and for 
which you have the gratitude of the country, and especially 
of the Navy whom you so signally honor, you will lay the 
corner-stone not only of a monument to these patriotic 
martyrs, but of a university education for all the people 
now and hereafter of your great and noble city. 



13 
Julia Ward Howe's immortal " Battle Hymn of the 
Republic " was then sung, Mrs. Harvey singing the solo and 
the vast audience impressively joining in the refrain ; after 
which Mr. Kennedy said : As often happens, those who 
have done the most to bring about a desired end make the 
least appearance in it, and it is so to-day. This is not the 
time to award praise to those who have organized this Asso- 
ciation and carried it to this point ; they are silent to-day. 
But, for a voice to speak for this Society and for this city, 
who other should be chosen than that officer of the Prison 
Ship Martyrs' Association, that beloved and admired citizen 
of Brooklyn, General Stewart L. Woodford ? 

ADDRESS OF GENERAL WOODFORD. 

My Countrymen: The Navy of the United States to-day 
commits to the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association 
the custody for final interment of these unknown remains. 
In the prison hulks in Wallabout Bay, from the disastrous 
17th of August, when the battle of Long Island was lost 
until the close of hostilities, all privateersmen captured by 
the British fleet, many soldiers of the Continental Army and 
i;nany citizens, driven from their homes, were imprisoned. 
To the horrible number of 11,000 they starved to death and 
their remains were flung into trenches rudely dug on the 
shore of the bay. 

It is an indictment against King George and his ministers 
which time can never efface. Let us reverently thank God 
that the spirit of Christian civilization has so far advanced 
that the horrors of war have been so far mitigated that when, 
sir [here General Woodford turned toward Secretary 
Long] under your administration of our Navy more than 
1,300 Spanish sailors fell into your custody, you cared for 
them as you did for your own men, and humanity thanks 
you for it. 

When the hostilities of the revolution closed, the few 
survivors of the prison ships were rescued and freed, but 
such was the condition of the chief among their floating 



14 

prisons, the old Jersey, that she was left, without guard, to 
gradually sink as she might, and the waters of Wallabout Bay 
now cover her. To the care of a single citizen, John Jack- 
son, we owe that the remains were gathered ; to Benjamin 
Romaine that temporary sepulcher was provided and the 
first move made for a suitable burial. To the Tammany 
Society of New York, we owe thanks for the first effort 
made to place above them a fitting monument. But as the 
years passed and that effort did not crystallize, new effort 
was made in 1873, when our city government provided the 
large tomb now upon Fort Greene in Washington Park. 
To that tomb to rest until the final judgment, we shall com- 
mit these remains to-day. We hope, nay, more, we believe, 
that the present effort to secure a suitable monument will be 
successful. The city of New York has been authorized to 
contribute $50,000. The State of New York will make 
contribution, and furthermore we are assured that the 
nation itself is to act in marking the burial place of its 
first heroes, men who belonged to the thirteen original 
States. 

A liberal sum has alread}^ been contributed and is on de- 
posit in a Trust company of our city, and we believe, Mr. 
Secretary, that we shall succeed in suitably marking the 
spot where these heroes are to rest. 

Prolonged remarks after the scholarly and inspiring utter- 
ances of the Secretary of the Navy would be inappropriate ; 
but this spot is eloquent with memory. Here as nowhere, 
in our beloved Brooklyn, the spirit of liberty has breathed 
in the days that are gone, and the voice of our dead Prophet 
of Liberty still echoes within these walls. The ashes of our 
heroes are here and they speak to us as do the memories of 
this sacred place ; and they are all uttering one lesson — 
the lesson of patriotism, the lesson of fidelity, the lesson of 
duty. God help you and me, God help our people to be 
worthy of what these men died for. They did more than 
die in battle. In the awful joy of conflict, when bayonets are 
flashing and the blood is tingling, men spring to struggle ; 
but these men, without a flag above them, with no sounds of 



15 
bugle or clarion, with no touch of comrade's elbow, these men 
walked into the most horrible of deaths, patient, calm, un- 
wavering. They were bribed to leave their prison-house, 
if they would enter the service of the King. They spurned 
the bribe. They faced starvation. They died and became 
martyrs of liberty. God help us to keep that liberty. 

After the singing of " My Country, 'Tis of Thee," by the 
congregation. Dr. Hillis pronounced the benediction; the 
caskets were returned to the hearses, and the procession 
was re-formed in the following order : 

Fifth Artillery JBand, hief Musician Frederic Frank. 
Battery N, Fifth Artillery^ Captain Thomas Ridgway. Ma- 
rine Band, Signor G. Savasta, Leader ; Battalion Marines- 
Major Thos. Woods. Twenty-third 'Regiment Band, Thos. 
F. Shannon, Leader. Twenty-third Regiment, N. G., Major 
David K. Case, Commanding. Troop C, National Guard, 
Captain Charles I. DeBevoise, Commanding. St. Paul's 
Church Cadets, First Lieutenant W. Henry AUers, Jr., 
Commanding; followed by the hearses and by the dis- 
tinguished officers and civilians already named and mem- 
bers of the Association, Old Brooklynites and others in 
carriages. The route was along Hicks to Pierrepont, to 
Clinton, to Schermerhorn, to Lafayette Avenue, to Cumber- 
land to Myrtle and the Martyrs' Tomb in Fort Greene Park. 
Here the troops were massed in close column fronting a 
vast concourse of citizens who crowded the slopes and every 
available space, but in perfect order— a scene of unsurpassed 
beauty and long to be remembered. During the transfer of 
the caskets to the tomb, minute guns were fired by a platoon 
of the Third Battery, N. G. (Captain H. S. Rasquin) in charge 
of Lieut. Chauncey Matlock, Jr. Before the entrance to the 
tomb a tablet with these words from the Scriptures, chosen 
and printed by Mrs. White, was placed : " Let us now praise 
famous men, and our fathers that begot us. The Lord hath 
wrought great glory by them through His great power from 
the beginning. Leaders of the people by their counsels and 
by their knowledge of learning meet for the people wise and 



i6 

eloquent in their instructions. All these were honored in 
their generations and were the glory of their time. There 
be of them that have left a name behind them that their 
praises might be reported. And some there be which have 
left no memorial, ^ * * but these were merciful men 
whose righteousness hath not been forgotten. Their bodies 
are buried in peace, but their name liveth forever. — Ecclesi- 
asticus (Apocrypha), xlvi : i-io." 

The flag on the staff in the Park and the flags on all the 
public edifices were placed at half-mast during the exercises, 
by direction of Hon. James J. Kirwin, Deputy Commissioner 
of Public Buildings. 

The transfer having been completed, President Kennedy 
introduced Hon. Amos J. Cummings, M. C, who said : 

ADDRESS OF MR. CUMMINGS. 

Fellow Citizens: When these bones were ignominiously 
thrown^into the trenches at the Wallabout, this was a nation 
of 3,000,000 people- To-day 3,000,000 people live within 
sight of this tomb. These ashes represent the hopes and 
aspirations of a nation struggling for liberty ; they perpetu- 
ate the prayers and the tears of the noble women of the 
Revolution. They recall the days of Ethan Allen at Ticon- 
deroga ; they bring to mind the blood of Warren sinking 
into the sod at Bunker Hill ; they recall the days of Saratoga, 
the Brandywine, and the bloody footprints in the snow at 
Valley Forge ; they memorialize the triumphs at Trenton 
and Princeton, and the death of Hugh Mercer; they bring 
back the dying words of De Kalb at Camden and the glori- 
ous death of Pulaski at Savannah ; they recall the days of 
Light Horse Harry and of Mad Anthony Wayne ; they 
render vivid the battle of King's Mountain, the defeat of 
Tarleton at Cowpens, and the crowning victory at York- 
town. They recall the fate of Nathan Hale, of Isaac Hayne 
and of the innumerable heroes who gave up their lives for 
American freedom in the long ago. 

It is to the glory of Brooklyn and its citizens that she took 



17 
the initiative in erecting a monument to the memory of 
these martyrs. It was high time that something was done. 
The very elements themselves had riveted the attention 
of the nation to their bones. Buried at low-water mark, 
the tide washed the sand from their skeletons, recalling their 
cruel sufferings and torture at the hands of the soldiers of 
King George. When the Tammany Society removed the 
remains and placed them in the terrace at the Navy Yard, 
the elements again spurred the nation to its duty. The 
bones were exposed by heavy rains and storms and were 
finally deposited here at Fort Greene, and the conscience of 
the nation has again been awakened. In the march of pro- 
gress the uncoffined bones of 150 other martyrs have been 
unearthed. A third time Providence demands the action of 
Congress in the erection of a monument to the memory of 
the men who died the most horrible of deaths that the 
nation might live. 

Fitting was it that a lineal descendant of that noble Puritan 
Captain Myles Standish, Mrs. Stephen V, White, took 
a leading part in this movement. It was an inspiration that 
speaks volumes for the American character. The city of 
Brooklyn is striving to do its duty b}^ these dead patriots. 
The city of New York is in ncj way backward, and the State 
authorities have voted a substantial sum toward the erection 
of this monument. The government of the United States 
alone is laggard. These bones represent the soil of every 
one of the thirteen colonies. The Georgian sleeps here at 
the side of the Jerseyman ; the bones of the Maryland line 
and of the Delaware regiment are mingled with the bones 
of those from Massachusetts and Connecticut. The dust of 
Virginia and of South Carolina is commingled with the dust 
of patriots from Pennsylvania and New York. The gov- 
ernment of the United States ought to double these contri- 
butions. To be sure, these martyrs have a monument in 
themselves far more enduring than marble — the memory of 
their sufferings. A monument as high as Liberty enlighten- 
ing the world should be raised, for these were the men who 
lighted the torch with which Liberty has illumined the world. 



While in Congress I have tried to do my duty toward 
these fallen patriots. Four times have I reported from the 
Committee on Library a bill appropriating $100,000 for the 
erection of this proposed monument. Twice has the bill 
been before the House for consideration. It met almost 
universal favor. Even that persistent objector, William S. 
Holman, favored the project. It was reserved, however, 
for a man from Texas to make the first objection to its con- 
sideration, despite the protest of the whole House. The 
bill was laid aside, but came up afterward in what was 
known as the morning hour. This was in the Fifty-third 
Congress. This same man from Texas, by filibustering and 
moving to adjourn and take recesses, wasted the time 
allotted for its consideration, and the bones were practically 
again left to the mercy of the elements. Then came a new 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. He formulated 
a rule by which no bill involving an appropriation of gov- 
ernment money could come^before the House in the regular 
order of business. 

For the last six years the only way in which this bill 
could secure consideration in the House of Representatives 
was through a special order emanating from the Committee 
on Rules. The Committee on Rules practically was one 
man, the Speaker of the House. He firmly set his face 
against its consideration. I take great joy, however, in 
telling this audience that I am convinced the new Speaker 
of the House will provide a special order at the next ses- 
sion, and that a monument — a true tribute to the patriotism 
represented by these decaying relics — will be raised so high 
above them that it can be seen from the Highland Lights to 
Stony Point, and one that will awaken the interest and 
admiration of every patriot and every visitor who enters 
the historic Harbor of New York. 

The caskets when deposited in the vault were profusely 
strewn with flowers by the ladies present. The tomb was 
then closed and three magnificent wreaths presented by the 
Association, the Daughters of the Revolution and the 



19 
Daughters of the American Revolution were laid against it. 
The audience uncovered and Dr. Hillis read the committal 
service : 

And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from hence- 
forth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their 
labors ; and their works do follow them. 

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me. What 
are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and whence 
came they ? 

And 1 said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said 
unto me, These are they which came out of great tribula- 
tion, and have washed their robes, and made them white in 
the blood of the Lamb. 

And they shall see His face ; and His name shall be in 
their foreheads. 

And there shall be no night there ; and they need no 
candle, neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth 
them light ; and they shall reign for ever and ever. 

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life ; 
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he 
live ; 

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. 
Believeth thou this ? 

Earth to earth, dust to dust, ashes to ashes. 

All again united in singing " America," and amid most 
solemn stillness Dr. Hillis pronounced the benediction : 

And now may that God who brought again from the dead 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 
make us all perfect in every good work to do his will, work- 
ing in us that which is well pleasing in his sight, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The silence was broken by Bugler Dennis Hogan, who 
sounded " Taps," and the booming of the artillery, which 
closed the deeply impressive ceremonies with thirteen guns. 



20 

From the inception to the close of these notable exercises^ 
nothing occurred to mar the perfection of detail. 

The co-operation of the War and Navy Departments, 
the National Guard and its local officers, of Hon. George 
V. Brower, Commissioner of Parks, and Deputy Chief 
P. H. McLaughlin in the admirable police arrangements, 
are warmly acknowledged by the Association. Said a local 
paper: 

" Not a single feature of yesterday's ceremony failed to 
take place as planned. At the church, the exercises were 
conducted with precision ; at the fort, they were brief ; but 
at both places they were significant and appropriate. The 
military portion of the afternoon's arrangements surrounded 
the burial with a martial atmosphere distinctly in keeping 
with the nature of the ceremony." 



21 



OFFICERS 

OF THE 

Prison Sbip martyr^ monument Jlssociation 

OF THE UNITED STATES. 

president. 
Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy. 

vice-president. 
Mrs. Stephen V. White. 

treasurer. 
Hon. Felix Campbell. 

Secretary. 
Mrs. Horatio C. King. 

trustees. 
Hon. Cornelius N. Bliss. Gen. Stewart L.Woodford. 
Hon. Thomas C. Platt. Mrs. Daniel Manning. 
Hon. S. V. White. Hon. Henry E. Howland. 

Mrs. Henry Sanger Snow. Hon. William Berri. 
Hon. William B. Davenport. 

counsel. 

Hon. Augustus Van Wvck. 

Gen. Horatio C. King. 



22 



ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION 

OF THE 

Prison Ship JVlartyrs' JVlonument Association 

OF THE UNITED STATES. 
ARTICLE I. 

NAME. 

There is hereby formed a voluntary Association to be 
known as the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association 
of the United States. 

ARTICLE II. 

OBJECT. 

The object of the Association is to procure money, and to 
cause to be erected, and forever cared for, a monument at 
Fort Greene Park, in the Borough of Brooklyn, in the city 
and State of New York, which may appropriately com- 
memorate the heroism and the patriotism of those brave 
men who died from privations and disease on the prison 
ships in the Wallabout Bay during the war of the Revolu- 
tion. 

ARTICLE III. 

OFFICERS. 

The officers of this Association shall consist of a Presi- 
dent, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and a Board 
of Trustees. 



i.vfc 



23 

ARTICLE IV. 

TRUSTEES. 

The Board of Trustees shall consist of nine members who, 
with the other officers, shall be elected at the first meeting 
of this Association, or at an adjourned meeting to which 
said first meeting may be adjourned. 

ARTICLE V. 

CLASSIFICATION. 

The said Trustees shall classify themselves into three 
classes of three each by lot, the first class to hold office for 
one year, the second class for two years, and the third class 
for three years, and each class shall hold office until their 
successors are elected and qualified. 

ARTICLE VI. 

TERM OF OFFICE. 

All other officers shall hold office for one year and until 
their successors are elected and qualified. 

ARTICLE VII. 

ELECTION. 

An annual election shall be held on the fourth Thursday 
of March in each year after the year eighteen hundred and • 
ninety-eight, at which time shall be chosen three Trustees, 
to serve for three years ; and a President, Vice-President, 
Treasurer, and Secretary, to serve for the ensuing year. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

VACANCIES. 

Should any vacancy occur in the Board of Trustees or 
other office from death or otherwise, the Board of Trustees 
may fill such vacancy until the next annual election there- 
after, and until a successor has been elected and qualified. 



24 

ARTICLE IX. 

ADVISORY BOARD. 

This Association may, by its By-Laws to be hereafter 
duly enacted, provide for an Advisor)- Board, and for 
auxiliary boards through which to extend and enlarge its 
work, and may provide for and appoint all such committees 
as ma}' seem useful in the conduct of its affairs. 

ARTICLE X. 

OFFICE. 

The principal place of business of this Association shall 
be in the Borough of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, in 
the State of New York. 

ARTICLE XI. 

MEMBERSHIP. 

Any person of good moral character may become a mem- 
ber of this Society upon the payment of one dollar to the 
Treasurer, and sending name to the Secretary. 

ARTICLE XII. 

COUNSEL. 

There may be chosen by the Board of Trustees a Counsel 
and Assistant Counsel, who shall be men learned in the law 
and of eminent patriotism, willing to serve the Association, 
as shall all other officers, without compensation. 



25 



BY-LAWS 



OF THE 



Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES. 



OFFICERS. 



The officers of the Association shall be President, Vice- 
President, Treasurer, and Secretary. 

PRESIDENT. 

It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meet- 
ings of the Association and Executive Committee, to sign all 
certificates and legal instruments in behalf of the Associa- 
tion, and acknowledge and deliver the same. 

To call special meetings of the Executive Committee and 
Advisory Board, and shall do so when thereunto required 
by five (5) Trustees in writing. 

VICE-PRESIDENT. 

It shall be the duty of the Vice-President to assist the 
President in his or her duties ; and act in his or her place in 
his or her absence, 

TREASURER. 

It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to collect all dues, 
debts, and subscriptions not otherwise collected ; to deposit 
,all moneys in the name of the Association in a bank or other 



26 

moneyed' institution approved by the Executive Committee ; 
to keep a detailed account of receipts and expenditures; to 
send receipts to the respective collectors and others for all 
moneys received from them, and to pay all bills after they 
have been approved by the Executive Committee. He or 
she shall also keep a record of property belonging to the 
Association. 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

There shall be an Executive Committee, composed of the 
officers of the Association, the chairmen of the several com- 
mittees, and three to be elected by the Board. 

ORDER OF BUSINESS. 

1. Reading of Minutes of the previous meeting. 

2. Communications. 

3. Reports of Officers. 

4. Reports of Committees. 

5. Motions and Resolutions. 

6. Miscellaneous Business. 

AMENDMENTS. 

These By-Laws may be altered or amended without 
notice at any adjourned meeting of this annual meeting of 
1899, and thereafter at any regular or called meeting, ten 
davs' notice of the proposed change having been given by 
mail to the Trustees at their last known places of resi- 
dence. 



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